Destiny 2 fans have gotten used to new expansions coming out each fall, typically around September. However, that changed in 2021 when Bungie delayed Beyond Light, pushing the expansion's launch to November and making fans wait a little longer for Year 4 of the game. Now it seems Destiny 2 fans will have to wait even longer for the Witch Queen expansion, as it's been delayed to early 2022.

Bungie did not provide a specific release date for the Destiny 2 Witch Queen expansion beyond "early 2022." However, it did provide some insight into why it made this decision. Primarily, Bungie is moving the expansion's release date for the health of its team. Furthermore, The Witch Queen is also said to represent "an important evolution" in the game's ongoing storyline. The Witch Queen is said to be massively important to the franchise, introducing story arcs and characters that will continue to be featured in Lightfall and the expansion that follows that release. Due to how much is riding on The Witch Queen, Bungie decided it needed to take extra time to ensure that it lives up to expectations.

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Pushing The Witch Queen expansion to 2022 will also allow Bungie to upgrade the game's foundation, which will support its ambitious plans for its future. Throughout 2021, Destiny 2 will add crossplay, implement the transmog feature, and make some massive changes to how the core gameplay works in terms of both Power Level and PvP.

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Even with The Witch Queen delayed to 2022, it sounds like Bungie won't have much problem keeping Destiny 2 fans engaged with the game. There will still be plenty of new content throughout 2021, with the ongoing Season of the Chosen adding new Battlegrounds activities and future seasons adding crossplay and other kinds of content. And while Witch Queen itself won't be playable this year, fans can still look forward to learning more about it.

Bungie has confirmed that The Witch Queen will be showcased in "late summer." It also teased that it will show stuff "beyond" The Witch Queen expansion, though whether or not that means a peak at Lightfall or something else remains to be seen.

Lightfall was originally envisioned to be the end of the ongoing Destiny storyline that started with the original game in 2014. However, Bungie has said that it is expanding its vision, and that a new Destiny 2 expansion will be needed beyond Lightfall to wrap up the story. With The Witch Queen not coming until 2022 and Lightfall in 2023, it will likely be years before fans of the looter-shooter/MMO hybrid learn more about the 2024 expansion, but it does at least guarantee continued support for the game for some time to come.

Destiny 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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Source: Bungie